Advice for preachers at Chilwell Road

This is to update preachers on worship arrangements at Chilwell Road. We look forward to welcoming you when you are next planned to lead worship at our church.

Communications:

A steward will normally contact you first about ten days before the service to

inform you of any features of the occasion that makes it different from the usual pattern outlined here and in the circuit plan

ask you about special requests (like AV presentations, music, dramatic readings) that will take us time to organise, and

put you in touch with the people providing these facilities.

We are not expecting you to have the final order of service ready then, but the steward and the other people concerned do appreciate early notice of the the details, preferably by email. The steward will be in touch with you by telephone on the Wednesday before the Sunday service if these have not already been provided.

Services:

Pattern of services:

The morning service on the first Sunday of each month and the evening service on the third Sunday are Communion services. Family worship, to which children are invited, is held about once a month.

Morning services at 10:30am:

This principal service is where the church community meets together on a Sunday. Children and staff of the Junior Church are present for about the first 15 minutes (except communions) and so it would be appreciated if this part could include material appropriate to children and young people.

Evening services at 6:30pm:

These quieter and more reflective services currently attract a congregation of about 25 and are held in the transept with piano accompaniment. Data-projection facilities can only be made available in an evening if several weeks’ notice is given.

Lord’s Prayer:

We normally use the modern form of the Lord’s Prayer as given in the Methodist Worship Book p 126 para 22L.

Resources:

Books available for the congregation:

Copies of the Methodist Worship Book and the Bible [Today’s New International Version (TNIV)] are available, together with the Methodist hymn-books “Singing the Faith” and “Hymns & Psalms” as well as the song-book “Let’s Praise”. If you may want to use other material, please be prepared to provide the words and tunes in good time.

Music:

Congregational singing is normally accompanied by the organ (mornings) and piano (evenings). All-age worship uses the worship band (including piano and keyboard). We have two groups of singers who prepare choral contributions normally planned a quarter ahead.

Audio Visual System (mornings):

We have a data projection system with paired screens and a preacher’s monitor which we use on a Sunday morning. We normally project the words of hymns and songs (which are also made available in printed form for those who prefer). We can also play music and show pictures, video-clips and any other material that you wish to enhance the service. Sight of the final order of service by the Thursday of the week before the service would be most helpful to those handling the equipment, as last-minutes changes are not easy to make.

We record the morning services on audio-CD for distribution to housebound members. We could also record the evening service if required.

Readers:

Members of the congregation are available to read the bible lessons, and can also perform dramatic readings and sketches, or lead prayers.

General:

We hope that this helps you if you are planned to lead worship at Chilwell Road. We appreciate the ministry of our preachers, lay and ordained, and are grateful for the time and commitment you offer. Stewards, musicians, readers and technical stewards also aim to make their best possible contribution to the worship experience for our congregations.

Please do not hesitate to contact one of the Church Stewards if you have any questions or concerns. We gladly accept the responsibility for maintaining good communications with preachers over any aspect of our worship.